<p>since room and board is so expensive, the only way I am able to go to LMU is if I live off campus with a family member who is about 5-10 minutes from the campus. being an incoming freshman, will I be missing out on a lot if I don't live on campus?</p>
<p>Yes, you will miss out on A LOT. I don’t know what you’re financial aid deal is, but if you go to LMU, I would suggest living on campus your first year and then go off campus after that. There is an office for off-campus student housing that will try to help you, but it’s not the same. There’s a reason why about 98% of freshmen live on campus. Living in the dorms and just being on campus because it’s your new home is part of the college experience. You’re going to make a lot of your friends that way, and even just networking in general is easier that way. A lot of recruitment is done for freshmen in the dorms, if you live off-campus it will be harder to get involved. You’ll miss out on a lot of activities like the party buses that come at night and just random things happening on campus. There are also studies showing that people who live off-campus their first year suffer from lower grades. You’ll miss out on late night studies groups, being able to ask the person down the hall a question, visiting a prof during office hours because you were close by, and developing relationships with students that might make you more comfortable in class discussions. You’d probably end up feeling excluded and isolated. Even when you do make friends you won’t be able to relate to them as well.</p>
<p>I know that living off-campus is way cheaper, and I even thought about doing it to save money, but it’s a HORRIBLE idea for a freshman. It’s hard for me to fully explain, but I’m trying to be as honest as I can. You’ll just miss out on a lot because you’re just not there when everybody else is. Your freshman college experience should be so much more than just going to class.</p>
<p>If you are really set on going to lmu, I would live on campus with the cheapest meal plan. Go home on weekends for laundry and dinner sometimes and just be really frugal and live at home your other 3 years. First year is crucial though. If every dollar counts you can request a triple and don’t live in the del rey’s, that would reduce the housing costs.</p>
<p>Good luck, let me know what you decide to do.</p>
<p>thank you so much for your reply! i personally would much rather live on campus the first year, but my parents aren’t entirely sure if it’s worth it. if they don’t think so, then i’d probably go to community college and then transfer. however, i heard that transfers don’t get as much financial aid, and there’s still that looming idea that i won’t be able to get into LMU again or any other colleges. i was expecting to get more financial aid than was given, but i wasn’t able to appeal their offer since i didn’t really qualify to appeal. i’m torn because i absolutely love the school, but i feel like if i can’t live on campus for at least the first year, then why should i go there? </p>
<p>do you know how much cheaper it would be to live in a 3-person dorm? and is it worth it to take out the one year of housing as a loan? i’m not taking out any other loans, so the housing loan would be the only expense after college</p>
<p>Also the LMU cost of attendance is padded. Buy used books or at Amazon, save a lot. What food plan will you choose? You probably don’t need the big plan, eat at your relative’s occasionally, request the cheapest dorm. Pencil out your budget to eliminate frills,and see if you can make the dorm work the first year.</p>
<p>If you really have no other loans, I think it’s worth it to take out some for the first year of housing. Triple dorms are rare. There’s only 16 of them, don’t see the rates listed, but probably about $500-ish.
If they gave you enough aid that all you have to cover is room, meals, and random expenses, you got a good deal even though it seems like there’s a lot of stuff to pay for.
This is of course a personal and family decision, but if I were you, I would go to LMU and live on campus, not off campus or a cc. Try to convince your parents that it’s worth it. It’s okay to transfer, but once again, you miss out on a lot.</p>
<p>including room and board, my tuition would come out to be about the price of a higher UC campus. it’s a lot of money, and that’s not even including grad school. although I would be saving a ton of money going to a cc, I’m not sure if it’s worth it in the end. I have a lot of AP credit, but even cc’s are becoming impacted. </p>
<p>it is okay to just live there freshman year, right? I’d love to live there all four, but with our current financial situation it may not be feasible. there’s also a program in the engineering department where you can room with other engineering majors, which also sounds pretty appealing to me also. that way, I can really focus on getting better grades!</p>
<p>by the way, thank you both for your thoughts and opinions! I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>Lots of sophomores still live on campus, but many move off campus, especially by junior year. Those friends you make on campus freshman year want to save money by moving off campus, you do what you have to do. If prices are comparable, it’s hard to turn down LMU. Prices have increased only 3% each of the last two years, they have a commitment to on time graduation, not sure UC’s can say that.</p>
<p>It’s definitely fine to live there just freshman year. Less than half of upperclassmen students live on campus anyways. LLC’s are great DRS is actually one of the more expensive dorms, but only by a few hundred dollars. You can still get the cheapest meal plan to save money though. The seaver college is the hardest college, or at least has the most work, so it will help to have peer connections. DRS also houses the honors students.
I personally could have about 3k in loans if I lived at home (which is less than 15 miles away) but I’m going to be taking out about 14-15k in loans so I can live on-campus my first year. I thought it was worth it for me, but only you and your family can decide if it’s worth it for you. If you do decide to go to LMU and be in PEEC I’ll probably end up seeing you there cause I’m going to be in DRS too.</p>
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<p>lynnmarie, do you know if people already started picking their dorms yet? or is access to that not available yet? I’d love to live in the DRS or DRN, but I know many people want those dorms also.
getting the cheapest meal plan and buying used books are also good points I’m bringing up to my parents. i have a friend who is a junior at LMU who is under the same major as I am, so I might even be able to borrow books from her to save money.</p>
<p>also, if you put in your commitment deposit, can you still decide do not attend there? I saw that it was non-refundable, but my parents were wondering just in case we sign up to go there and we, for whatever reason, decide that it’s not a good idea to attend there</p>
<p>A lot of people have started picking dorms already. You have to send in your commitment deposit to gain access to page that lets you rank them and you have to submit the $400 housing deposit before the forms are considered complete. If you choose to be in PEEC, I think your more likely to get in DRS because if you’re selected to be in that LLC then you’re automatically put in DRS. However, I don’t know if they evaluate students for the llc or if you get into the llc on a first come first serve basis.</p>
<p>I’m not exactly sure how it would work if you sent in the commitment deposit and then didn’t want to go. You’d have to call and ask, but it doesn’t sound like a good situation to be in. You basically just have to decide really quickly, I know it’s stressful. but hopefully it all works out for the best.</p>
<p>my parents just put in the deposit yesterday for me to attend! I’ll be living on campus the first year 
thank you guys so much for your input and hopefully I’ll be able to still get into the PEEC program also :)</p>
<p>Congratulations! Hopefully I’ll see you next year is DRS.</p>